Welcome to the 2019 PokerStars.es EPT Barcelona �5,300 Main Event
The European Poker Tour returns to Casino Barcelona for the 15th year running and the success story kicked off back in 2004 when Alexander Stevic became the inaugural EPT Main Event champion. Ever since the stop at the Spanish Riviera has cemented the status as the most popular stop of the year and a record field of 1,931 entries emerged in 2018.
Players from 10 different countries lifted the EPT Main Event trophy in Barcelona with Sweden and Germany providing three champions while two players from Poland came out on top twice.
The defending champion of the record-breaking event is Piotr Nurzynski, who took two years off to travel and played a �250 satellite on PokerStars while in South America to win his Main Event package, which he turned into a payday of �1,037,109.
The biggest and busiest stop of the calendar year has already set the bar of expectations very high with record fields in the Campeonato de Espa?a de Poker and the �1,100 EPT National, which attracted a field of 4,682 entries and concluded last night with the victory of Markku Koplimaa. All other side events are also up in numbers and that promises big things for the flagship tournament of the festival in the days to come.
EPT History in Barcelona at a glance
| Year | Entres | Prize Pool | Winner | Country | First Prize (in EUR) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 229 | � 229,000 | Alexander Stevic | Sweden | � 80,000 |
| 2005 | 327 | � 1,300,000 | Jan Boubli | France | � 416,000 |
| 2006 | 480 | � 2,304,000 | Bj?rn-Erik Glenne | Norway | � 691,000 |
| 2007 | 543 | � 4,181,100 | Sander Lyloff | Denmark | � 1,170,700 |
| 2008 | 619 | � 4,952,000 | Sebastian Ruthenberg | Germany | � 1,361,000 |
| 2009 | 479 | � 3,832,000 | Carter Phillips | USA | � 850,000 |
| 2010 | 758 | � 3,790,000 | Kent Lundmark | Sweden | � 825,000 |
| 2011 | 811 | � 4,055,000 | Martin Schleich | Germany | � 850,000 |
| 2012 | 1082 | � 5,247,700 | Mikalai Pobal | Belarus | � 1,007,550 |
| 2013 | 1234 | � 5,984,900 | Tom Middleton | UK | � 942,000 |
| 2014 | 1496 | � 7,255,600 | Andre Lettau | Germany | � 794,058 |
| 2015 | 1694 | � 8,215,900 | John Juanda | Indonesia | � 1,022,593 |
| 2016 | 1785 | � 8,657,250 | Sebastian Malec | Poland | � 1,122,800 |
| 2017* | 1682 | �?8,157,700 | Sebastian Sorensson | Sweden | � 987,043 |
| 2018 | 1931 | � 9,365,350 | Piotr Nurzynski | Poland | � 1,037,109 |
*held as PokerStars Championship
All players in the 2019 PokerStars.es EPT Barcelona �5,300 Main Event receive 30,000 in chips and ten levels of 60 minutes each are scheduled on each Day 1. A single re-entry and two entries in total are available for all those that bust and the participants can re-enter the same day, the following starting day or before the start of Day 2.
There will be a break every two levels and a 75-minute dinner break takes place after the completion of level 8. Furthermore, the tournament also features the new popular big blind ante format and a 30-second shot clock will be implemented at the start of Day 3.
Day 1 Level Structure
| Level | Duration | Small Blind | Big Blind | Big Blind Ante |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 60 min | 100 | 100 | |
| 2 | 60 min | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| BREAK 20 min | ||||
| 3 | 60 min | 100 | 200 | 200 |
| 4 | 60 min | 100 | 300 | 300 |
| BREAK 20 min | ||||
| 5 | 60 min | 200 | 400 | 400 |
| 6 | 60 min | 200 | 500 | 500 |
| BREAK 20 min | ||||
| 7 | 60 min | 300 | 600 | 600 |
| 8 | 60 min | 400 | 800 | 800 |
| DINNER BREAK 75 min | ||||
| 9 | 60 min | 500 | 1,000 | 1,000 |
| 10 | 60 min | 600 | 1,200 | 1,200 |
Stay tuned for all the action from the tables for what shapes up to be one of the biggest poker tournaments of the year. The PokerNews team will be on the floor to provide all the action from start-to-finish.